Raijin Shinigami
by Dunedan
Summary: A second shinigami was born the night Ichigo Kurosaki gained his abilities from Rukia Kuchiki. One granted with strength, the other with speed, will the two be strong enough to face the trials ahead in the real world, and in soul Society?
1. One Fateful Night

**This is another one of my fanfics containing a new character of my own creation, I know they're not the best, but I've had these ideas for a while and I like writing them. I always wondered what it would be like if normal people gained the abilities we've watched and loved. I hope you enjoy.**

Charles Tanaka, half American half Japanese, 15 years old, auburn brown hair, green eyes, student at high school, childhood friend to Ichigo Kurosaki and…

He was present that fateful night, the night that Rukia Kuchiki appeared at Ichigo's home. The same night a powerful hollow gravely wounded her, forcing her to pass her powers to Ichigo.

Charles walked down the street, though it was late at night he had forgotten to hand his papers to Ichigo, and knew he'd never hear the end of it if it was late for class.

"Man, this is so troublesome (sorry for the Shikamaru reference, I couldn't help it)," he said to himself, yawning as he walked. "If only Ichigo had remembered to remind me then I wouldn't have to go to his house in the middle of the night."

He knew the family, having taken more than his fair share of hits from Ichigo's eccentric father, who seemed to pick a fight with him every time he came over despite being a doctor. Ichigo's sisters were pretty nice though, they talked….

An explosion interrupted his thoughts; looking ahead he noticed that it came from the Kurosaki house.

"What the hell?" He shouted, racing toward the smoldering hole in the wall. Charles was extraordinarily fast, more than once his teachers and classmates had told him to join the track team, though he found it too boring. Despite his speed it seemed he couldn't get there soon enough.

The sight filled him with dread, for it appeared as if nothing had caused the explosion, the exterior of the house was deserted, Charles approached wearily to check inside.

"Ichigo! Are you alrig…?" He shouted, before his body suddenly stopped listening to him. Without warning he suddenly was sent flying, feeling as if some invisible force had struck him in the gut, knocking the wind out of him.

Shaking his head with pain he looked up, seeing what appeared to be a woman, her hair was dark, matching the robe she wore. She was slumped against a nearby lamppost. Charles could see a crimson stain on her shoulder, a sword in her hand caught his eye, she was obviously wounded. Ichigo was kneeling over her, holding the blade to his chest.

"Oi! Ichigo! What are you doing!?" Charles shouted, running as fast as he could to his friend. "Don't do anything rash with that thing!"

He wasn't listening too well, however as he neared them he could hear Ichigo whisper, "My name…..is Ichigo Kurosaki." As he finished a huge blast of light erupted from the girl's body, blinding him.

As the light faded Charles could see better, but everything had changed.

Ichigo was standing in the middle of the street, but now he was clothed in the same black robe the girl had been wearing before, a massive sword was present in his hands. As he looked around he noticed what Ichigo was looking at. A horrible creature was standing before him, it was as tall as a house, a huge hole was in its chest. Its skin was a combination of black and white, It grinded its massive teeth menacingly as it attacked Ichigo.

"How the hell did I miss that?" he thought as he laid there.

Charles was amazed, Ichigo charged the beast, using his newfound blade. With seamingly inhuman speed he spliced its foot off, cutting the creature in two he made quick work of it.

"That was amazing Ichigo!" Charles shouted, stumbling over to his friend, shaking off the killer headache. "You tore that guy a new one, what the hell was that thing?"

Ichigo stared at Charles; he had a puzzled look on his face, as if he had never seen him before.

"Um Ichigo….what's wrong?"

"Charles…have you looked at yourself recently?"

"What do you mean?" He looked down at himself, and nearly shouted in surprise.

He was now wearing a black robe identical to Ichigo's and the woman's, a simple katana hung at his side in a sheath.

"How did this happen?" Charles shouted, unsure as to how to react to what was occurring.

"You are a Shinigami," said the woman from before, approaching the two men, though she spoke assuredly she seemed as surprised as Charles and Ichigo.

"A Shinigami? Who the heck are you?"

"I am Rukia Kuchiki," She responded. "And it seems that we'll be getting to know each other."

**This chapter was kind of rushed because I don't have a lot of time to write. This story will primarily take place during the Soul Society arc if I have time to continue it. I hope you enjoy the story as Charles's Death God powers are revealed. Fixed a few errors on the original post.**


	2. First Day of Class

**Chapter 2 is finally up, even though this was just a small idea I had I'm glad that so many enjoyed Chap 1, the story of a new shinigami continues…**

Charles' eyes shot open, as he finally regained consciousness, surprisingly well rested after his odd dream.Glancing down at himself he made sure that he no longer wore the black robe from his dream, in fact he discovered that he had slept in his day clothes.

"Charles!" came a shout from the kitchen as a woman came bursting through his bedroom door. "Get up this instant or you are going to be late!"

Charles groaned, his limbs were sore, feeling as if he actually had been thrown through a wall.

"I'm getting up mom," he responded, pulling himself to his feet. "Just give me a minute."

His mother's look of stern annoyance quickly turned into that of cheerful content. "Wonderful honey, breakfast is downstairs."

As she vanished from the room Charles simply sat up for several moments, drowning out the sounds of his mom, dad, and sister downstairs, thinking hard on the dream which seemed so real in his mind…

The school bell rang, signaling the start of homeroom, Charles took his seat right beside Ichigo's, who was leaning back on his chair. Surrounding him were their small troupe of friends from their various classes. Keigo Asano, the resident funny guy, often times trying to ask girls on dates who were way out of his league. Mizuiro Kojima, who was seldom ever seen when not at Keigo's side, and Yasutora Sado, or Chad as Ichigo and everyone had come to call him, the resident strong man, he never spoke much, yet could bench press most of their homeroom class if asked to.

"Morning Ichigo," Charles started. "You are not gonna believe the dream I had about your house last night."

"Wow, what an odd coincidence," remarked Mizuiro. "A dream the same night that a truck smashes through it."

"EH?" Charles gasped, nearly falling out of his chair. "You mean a hole actually did get blown through your wall?"

"Pretty much," Ichigo replied in his uncaring voice as always.

"Perhaps we could help clean it up," Chad remarked softly, peering at the others.

"Th-that's alright Chad," Ichigo replied, sweatdropping slightly, knowing that though Chad had great strength, he often times destroyed more by accident than he helped rebuild.

"Ah, so you two are Charles and Ichigo," came a voice from behind them.

Turning around slightly both Charles and Ichigo gasped, falling backwards on their chairs and slamming into the ground.

It was the girl from the dream, albeit now wearing a one of the girl's school uniforms.

"My name is Rukia Kuchiki, and I will be sitting next to you two."

"Y-you!" the two men cried simultaneously.

"You know her?" asked Keigo, obviously noticing her beauty as he often did with girls.

"That can't be," Rukia replied, the smile never fading from her lips. "This is our first meeting, it's nice to meet you." She held out her hand to shake.

As Charles reached forward to return the gesture she turned her hand slightly to the side, revealing writing written on her palm.

"Make a scene and I will kill you all."

Both Ichigo and Charles paled, their eyes twitching as they stared at the woman who would turn both their lives upside down.

**After classes…..**

"What the hell are you doing here??" Ichigo and Charles screamed in Rukia's direction once they were certain no one could hear them. "Why didn't you go home to your Soul Society place?"

"Because," she responded, not flinching even as the wind from the force of their shouts rushed past her face. "I cannot return, only those with Shinigami powers are capable, and I am no longer one."

"But….how can everyone see you?" Charles asked…absentmindedly poking Rukia's arm as if to ascertain whether or not she was really standing in front of them.

"STOP THAT!!" She suddenly exploded, causing Charles to shirk back behind Ichigo, quivering slightly. "This is a fake body, a gigai that I must use until my powers return, so until then…both of you will be helping me with my work as a Shinigami.

"EH??" Ichigo and Charles exploded simultaneously again.

"Its only natural, seeing as how you two are the Shinigami now."

"You mean fight that monster Ichigo bisected last night?" Charles gulped loudly.

"No way I am ever fighting any of those things again!" Ichigo shouted sternly, turning around to leave.

"But…Ichigo…we do kind of owe her…she did give you her powers after all…"

Ichigo paused for a moment, looking down at the ground as if in thought.

"Hey," Rukia said, causing the two of them to look up.

What happened next was quick, so fast that neither Charles nor Ichigo could avoid it. Rukia was faster than she looked, she stepped up to Charles, punching him in the gut, the quickly spun around him, leaping the gap between herself and Ichigo, punching him in the chin with the palm of her hand.

The two men picked themselves up, shaking off the daze before realizing what she had done. Both of their bodies were lying before them, they were both once again adorned with the black robes from the previous night.

"AAAH!!" She killed us!" Charles shouted, pointing exasperatedly at their now motionless forms.

"There is a hollow nearby," Rukia responded, pulling out what seemed to be a cell phone. "Down there."

She pointed down an alleyway several feet before them, for a brief moment they saw a shadow lurch by.

"Why should we kill it?" Ichigo replied angrily. "This isn't our job!"

"If I could I wouldn't need you two, but at the moment you have my powers, and your friend here seems to have powers of his own, so we have no other choice!"

"Is there anyway I could get a bigger sword like Ichigo's?" Charles butted in, holding up his normal sized katana, sweatdropping slightly.

"Your zanpakuto's are based on your spiritual pressure, Ichigo surpasses you substantially in that regard."

"Awww…."

Hesitantly the two new Shinigami made their way to the source of the shadow, their swords drawn.

The hollow blasted its way out of the wall, shoving Charles out of the way and ramming Ichigo head on, sending him flying.

This hollow was different than the last one, it more resembled a salamander, a similar mask obscured its face, eternally trapped in an expression of weeping.

It turned to Charles, swinging its tail with blinding speed.

When it impacted the ground where Charles stood, he was no longer present.

Rukia, watching from the safety of a nearby fire escape gasped, for he had simply vanished.

Glancing around she finally found him…on the other side of the alley, he had appeared there only an instant after vanishing from his previous location.

"Woah…" Charles muttered, awing at what had just happened. All he had meant to do was run away from the tail, yet somehow he had run so fast that he had made his way all the way over here?

"Flash step?" Rukia whispered to herself.

"Hey tall long and ugly, you missed me!" he shouted in mockery to the hollow.

Obviously angered, the lizard-hollow rushed him again, this time going for a headbutt.

Once again it missed, ramming head first into the steel dumpster, crumpling it like a tin can. Charles flew by it, being sure to slice off one of its legs before getting to a safe distance.

"It's all yours Ichigo!" he shouted, the hollow turned around, just as a massive blade sliced its head in two.

Ichigo had recovered from the blow, and had waited for Charle's to distract it long enough for him to get in his shot.

The two smiled, giving each other a high five before walking out of the alley towards their bodies.

_Impossible!_ Rukia thought to herself. _His speed was unreal, he has so little spirit energy…and yet he performed the flash step so precisely without any prior training or practice…He was almost as fast as him…_

Her peaceful thoughts were interrupted as loud screaming caused her to lose her footing and fall over.

"HEY! HOW DO WE GET BACK INTO OUR BODIES!?"

**That's chapter two for now, hope you like the difference in abilities between Ichigo and Charles, Review if you liked it :)**


	3. Another Fine Day

**Chapter 3 has arrived, the momentum picks up with the arrival of new friends and old faces, I hope you enjoy :) **

Charles tossed and turned, his sleep troubled as it had been for the past three nights.

He stood upon a barren wasteland, a half moon hung in the sky, yet its color was that of blood. Before him stood two forms, both concealed by eternal shadows, the first being that of apparently a rather athletic looking woman, the second a burly muscular man. They appeared to be saying something, yet Charles couldn't make it out, as he crept closer, a great shrill screech interrupted his thoughts.

Screaming Charles fell out of his bed, glaring angrily at the phone Rukia had given him, its wailing ring grinding his last nerves.

At first he had been ecstatic when Rukia had granted him a cell phone, which she used to keep in contact, seeing as how it had been Ichigo who had inherited her powers, she lived in his room, his closet more specifically. Those thoughts were quickly alleviated however, as she was constantly ringing him, reporting on hollows. Charles had been hurt to hear that Orihime's brother had returned as a hollow, and was beaten by Ichigo while Charles had been at home.

"What is it now?" he asked, reading the text message. "Meet before school for….soul candy?" he read aloud, "Wonder what that means."

Not caring for the moment Charles slumped back to sleep, memories of the dream completely forgotten.

**The Next Day……**

"Alright Rukia," Charles started once she and Ichigo were in front of the school; he obviously still ticked after being woken in the early hours. "What did you mean about soul candy? I thought you already gave that to Ichigo."

"I did, but of course Kon can't be with both of you if you two are pushed into another fight simultaneously, so I got one for you."

"O no…NO WAY!" Charles crossed his arms frantically. "You are not putting one of those things in me!"

"It won't be the same as Kon idiot," she calmly rebuked. "All soul candy has different properties, and yours will have a personality different than that of Kon."

"I still don't like it," he growled at Rukia, as she shoved what appeared to be a pez dispenser into his hand, as usual the head was in the shape of a bunny.

"Just try it first chance you get, no whining," she ordered, before turning and walking into the school, Ichigo smiling broadly at Charles' misfortune, remembering how he had mocked Ichigo's dependency on Kon to protect his body during a fight.

The day progressed, Keigo throwing a fit over Ichigo and Charles scoring so high on the schools top ranks, Ichigo in 23rd, with Charles standing proud at number five.

"You didn't do so bad yourself Tatsuki," Charles mentioned to her, he often complimented her due to the fact she sat right in front of him and Ichigo.

"Seems like you're always up there," She muttered. "Even Orihime couldn't match you this semester."

"How can you be so smart?!" Keigo shouted, popping in between the two, causing Charles' eye to twitch, pointing his finger obstinately at his friend who had never failed to appear in the schools top ten.

"I read very fast," Charles smiled, knowing his lack of caring for his overall rank was driving Keigo nuts.

"Very well then…" Keigo started, turning around and bowing in a goofy manner. "Then I present you Sir Nerdinstine of Geekdome the third with this award of your academic achievements, what do you say to that?" He was smiling broadly, no doubt sure he was annoying Charles.

Charles simply smiled back, "Actually I'm only the second person in my family to be named Charles, not the third."

Keigo fell over, defeated, permitting Charles to see Tatsuki's chuckling face.

"I wonder who got number one…"

Uryuu…Ishida," Ichigo read off, staring at the name that prominently sat in the place of number one rank in the school.

"That eerie kid with the creepy glasses?" Charles asked, looking to his friends for confirmation.

"That's the one," Tatsuki answered. "I don't even know anyone who knows him personally, keeps to himself mostly."

"How odd," Ichigo and Charles muttered, neither of them noticing the very man they spoke of watching them from around a far off corner…

**After School….**

Ichigo, Rukia, Charles, and all their friends walked down the street away from the school as they often did until they eventually needed to go their separate ways to their homes.

"See you guys later," Charles shouted, as he turned down an old alley.

"Still got that after school job?" Tatsuki asked as the others continued on ahead.

"Yea, it actually pays pretty well, all I need to do is help the owner keep the place stocked and tidy, to tell you the truth I don't even know what half the stuff is," he chuckled nervously.

"Keep your cell phone," Rukia added before walking away with the rest. "No job is more important that your duty."

Charles nodded slightly, sighing heavily as he wondered how long Rukia would be around bossing Ichigo and him about, though personally he thought it seemed like Ichigo didn't mind her too much…maybe….

Chuckling at his own ridiculous thoughts he made his way to the small store at the back of the alley and through an old abandoned neighborhood.

Carefully removing his shoes he slid open the door, noticing his fellow co-workers were already there as always.

A timid black haired girl with pig tails simply looked up. "Hi Charles," she whispered, blushing as she spoke.

"Hi Ururu," Charles waved, completely oblivious to her reddening cheeks.

A young red haired boy walked up to him, tossing Charles a broom with unnecessary force. "Ok pretty boy," he shouted. "This place needs some cleaning!"

"Sure thing Mr. Jinta," he smiled forcefully, taking all his will power not to return some banter with the kid who unfortunately had been at the shop before he had started working there.

"What's the racket?" Came a voice from the back Charles recognized as his boss'.

"Nothing Mr. Urahara sir," he yelled back. "I just arrived a moment ago!"

The frame of Mr. Kisuke Urahara came into full view as he appeared from the back of the store. As usual he had his standard green stripped jacket, with matching hat and his old sandals. He wore those garments so commonly that he had been given the nickname 'Mr. Hat and Clogs' by neighborhood kids.

"A lad, good to see you here," he approached Charles, leaning down as if to get a good look at him. "You seem taller, have you grown any since I last saw you?"

"I don't think I can grow noticeably in only a week," Charles sweat dropped.

"Nonsense my boy," he smiled again, he seemed unnaturally kind compared to the usual strict work schedule he gave. "One as young as you is always growing, even if you yourself don't notice the change."

"Y-yes sir."

"Good lad, now an old friend of mine is stopping by today so I want this place extra clean, hop to it." With that last word he cheerily meandered away, swinging his cane as he went, disappearing into the back of the store.

"A friend?" Charles muttered to Jinta. "I didn't know he ever left this shop."

"Please," the kid responded in a tone acting as if Charles was an idiot. "Of course he has friends, everybody knows that."

"O, then who is his friend?"

"Um…that's a secret," Jenta responded, sticking his nose up indignantly.

Charles sneered widely, cherishing a moment in which he could strike back.

"You don't know do you?"

Jenta simply sweat dropped, refusing to even look in Charles' direction.

As Charles savored his hard won victory, an exceptionally large man entered from the back, carrying a tray with three separate cups upon it.

"Evening tea!" he shouted, causing Jinta to rush over, Charles slowly followed suit.

"Thank you Mr. Tessai," Charles bowed politely, taking a sip of the tea. Tessai was always at Urahara's side, yet was kind enough to offer tea and treats to Charles now and then, Charles always chuckled sometimes at the sight of his overly large mustache.

Smiling, Charles continued his monotonous task of sweeping, then moving on to stacking the boxes of various nick knacks neatly around the shop. With a glancing stare he noticed a small blue gem shimmering from a half-opened box; curiously he removed it, analyzing the item.

It was a brooch; it seemed to be made of a plastic imitating the look of gold, with a blue gem socketed within.

"He, not bad for a piece of junk," Charles remarked, absentmindedly pinning it to his shirt, looking proud as if it were a first place medal he had placed upon his chest.

His feelings did not last long, as a far off explosion shook the earth, causing Charles to fall flat on his face.

"The hell?" he remarked, sliding open the door to the shop, Jinta and Ururu both peeked outside as well.

"O god, get back inside, both of you!" Charles shouted, slamming the door, leaving them on the inside, while he remained outside. With all his strength he raced towards the center of the city, his insides were ice cold, only the momentum of his legs kept them from going numb. He sprinted onward, his eyes ever remaining locked in an upward stare.

The sky was raining hollows…

**Sorry, no big battles this chapter, just some character development, however a challenge between two certain individuals has left the city besieged by hollows, many battles ensue ahead, hope you enjoy it. **

**And now for a little input by you, the reviewing fans ). The Soul Society Arc is not far off, and I can't decide how to address the Shinigami present. Should I go by the original, calling them, for example, Byakuya-Teicho, or the Americanized way of Captain Byakuya. Review with your thoughts, I'll update as quickly as my schedule permits. **


	4. What's in a Name?

**Its raining hollow, hallelujah its raining hollows…..sorry lol, couldn't resist. The town is attacked by a massive invasion brought on by Ichigo and Uryu's competition, Charles rushes to help save the inhabitants of his home, Review if you enjoy it. :)**

"Where the hell are they all coming from??" Charles muttered angrily to himself as he saw the hundreds of hollow forms descending seemingly out of nowhere from above, landing in sporadic parts of the city.

Whipping out his cell phone he quickly called Rukia, praying she could pick up.

"Charles?" she responded after a moment, causing him to release a pent up sigh of relief.

"Rukia, what's going on? There are hundreds of hollows everywhere!"

"I know, unfortunately it looks like you guys are going to have to fight them off, Ichigo and Uryu will assist across the city."

"Uryu?"

"He's a Quincy, spirit powers, long story, I'll tell you later, but you have to get out there and contain those hollow."

"How? Without you to transform me I'm stuck in my normal form."

"You still have that spirit candy I gave you, use it to…" before she could complete her sentence static overtook the phone as her line went dead.

"Rukia? Rukia!" he shouted, but no answer returned. "The candy? O ya!" Charles had completely forgotten the small pez dispenser Rukia had given him only that morning. "Well….here goes nothing," with a quick flick he popped a piece of the candy into his mouth, swallowing hard as he awaited the results.

With a surge of energy Charles could feel his human half ripped away from him, slumping to the ground. He now stood fully clothed in his shinigami robes, his zanpakuto hanging at his side.

"Wonder what I'll do with my body now," he whispered, gazing at his keeled over corpse. "Not like it can go anywhe…"

"Hello world!" his body suddenly shouted, lunging into the air and gripping Charles in a crushing bear hug.

"Wh…what the hell!" he shouted, struggling to separate his body from himself, barely being able to squeeze his way out. "Who are you!?"

He watched in horror as his own body assumed a very effeminate position, arching his right knee and pointing at his lips.

"My names Kaita, Kigh-ee-ta, pleased to meet you," Charles could feel his eyebrows twitch as he came to the realization.

"You're a female mod soul??"

"Aw, how'd u guess?" Kaita whined, placing Charles' body's own hands on his hips.

_It wasn't that hard to guess with the way you act, what was Rukia thinking?_ Charles thought, still gazing in horror at his own body, the idea that a female soul was within it was most discomforting. _I am soooo going to kill her for this later. _

"My how buff you are," Kaita chuckled, flexing Charles' body's muscles and rubbing his arms. "I got the cute one."

"Stop touching me!" Charles finally shouted, losing control, Kaita immediately obliged, standing at attention. "Look, I know we just met, but apparently the city is overrun with hollows; can you get to my house, make sure my family is safe and keep my body out of trouble?"

"Sure thing sweetie," Kaita replied.

Hearing those words coming from his own lips in his own voice caused Charles to shudder, as if a cold breeze had passed through the area.

Without another word Charles vanished, using all his power to speed towards the majority of the hollow landings. His body, now inhabited by Kaita, ran the opposite direction towards his home.

**At Charles' home…**

Kaita gazed in horror, the front door to the house was open, ripped off its hinges; the marks were undoubtedly from a hollow.

"O god, please don't be dead, please don't be dead," she thought to herself in Charles head. "He'll never forgive me."

Rushing inside she desperately shouted. "Mrs. Tanak….I mean, Mom!...Dad!...o what did Rukia say his sister's name was….Selina! Where are you?"

Running around the hall into the kitchen she spotted Charles' sister, clearly unconscious, a rumbling sound drew her attention to the upstairs hallway.

With a burst of blue energy the father came flying down the stairs, knocking his head off the wall.

"No! Kaita shouted, kneeling down, she felt his neck with a sigh of relief, he was only out cold.

A giant form appeared at the top of the steps, it was a hollow, its arms were unnaturally long, almost ape-like, its mask fanged and menacing.

"Get away from him!" Kaita shouted, kicking the hollow upside the chin.

It recovered from the blow quickly, swatting Charles' human body back down the stairs like as if it were a fly.

Kaita groaned, stumbling to her feet as the hollow approached closer.

Before she could comprehend the hollow's distance from her it howled in pain, as an unseen blade sliced it down the middle, it disintegrated, finally wheezing its last breath.

Kaita winced, having expected the hollow to kill her, hesitantly she raised her head, gazing at the black-robed individual who stood before her before muttering.

"No way…"

**Back in Town…**

The situation was worse than he feared, dozens, perhaps hundreds of hollows were swarming all over the place, already Charles' head count was fifteen, yet it seemed like a mere fraction of the numbers scuttling around him.

A group of hollows lunged upon him, their claws outstretched to tear him apart.

Charles vanished from their sight, causing them to stop and look around in confusion.

Reappearing behind them Charles impaled the first ones mask from behind, pulling it out he sliced the remainders in half with a wide-arc swing.

"This is unending," he muttered to himself, slashing another hollow that had attempted to sneak up behind him.

Another wave of hollows surged his location, he decapitated the first, however the following two rammed his chest, one taking a bite out of his shoulder.

Grunting in pain Charles kicked the first off, ramming his zanpakuto through the second.

Getting to his feet Charles gazed around himself, still surrounded by hollows. Feeling faint from the wound on his shoulder his eyes began to flutter, before he knew it he had slumped to the ground in a daze.

Forcing his eyes open he saw that he was in a dark room, the same from his dream the previous night.

"What the?" he stumbled back and forth, and endless void present in both directions.

"Welcome Charles, it is good to see you fully at last," came a disembodied voice, echoing through the space.

"Who's there? Where am I?"

Through the misty void Charles could make out the two silhouettes which haunted his dreams, one faded away, however the second stepped forward, revealing itself.

It appeared to be a young man, appearing to be in his early twenties, he was clad in a suit of armor, a green cloak flowing behind him.

"Who are you?"

"I am sorry, I should explain, this is your mind, and I your zanpakuto, we have been hoping to meet you."

"My mind eh?" he glanced around the room absentmindedly. "You'd think this would be a little less...empty." Finally what the man said finally donned on him. "Wait...my zanpakuto?" Charles stared in awe, his eyes enlargening. "You mean it's alive?"

"Indeed, and up till now you have hardly used any of our power, if you continue to fight at your present level you shall fall despite your extraordinary speed."

"Power? You mean spiritual pressure? I don't have much of that, Rukia said so during my last fight."

"Nay, for she did not know your potential, we shall give you more power if you desire it."

Charles thought for a moment, on the ramifications of what more power could bring, at length he finally responded, "How?"

"Shout my name, and you shall see for yourself."

Charles' eyes sprung open again, for real this time, discovering that he was still on the field of battle, and mere seconds had passed since he nearly lost consciousness.

Gripping his zanpakuto firmly in his hand he turned to the nearest bunch of hollows, narrowing his eyes, a smile creped onto his face, the last words of his inner zanpakuto echoing in his mind continuously.

(**Cue background music "Number one" :) )**

"Never run, unless it is towards your enemy."

The hollow hordes swarmed towards him.

"Always be faithful to your heart, let it guide your actions in times of war and peace."

Their claws extended, teeth beared for the kill.

"Defending the weak is imperative, never let the power overcome your morals."

Charles raised his sword as the hollows came into range.

"Cry my name! Shout…"

"Dance to the heavens, _**Taiyou Kirite**_!" Charles shouted, his zanpakuto glowing in his hands.

The resulting burst of energy obliterated the nearby hollows, any surviving the blast backed off, gazing into the cloud plume that surrounded Charles' body.

After several seconds the cloud dispersed, revealing Charles form, he stood perfectly straight, ignoring his earlier injuries, gripping Taiyou Kirite in his hands.

His simple katana had transformed, the blade had expanded and was now quite longer, curving towards him like a scimitar. Its handle was larger than normal and extravagantly ornate, containing a blue crystal in its center, runes were carved across the blade itself.

The hollows seemed to gain more courage, rushing towards Charles once more, intent on finishing him.

"Ah ah ah, you shall hurt no more people this day," Charles smirked, swinging the sword towards his enemies.

A shower of blue and white energy erupted from the tip of Taiyou Kirite, dashing and soaring towards the mass of hollows.

The incoming monsters had no defense for the attack, and exploded in a massive blast as the energy encompassed them, when the dust cleared they were gone.

Slumping to his knees Charles silently thanked Taiyou Kirite, asking if he could just call him Tayo for short.

Unfortunately more hollows remained, he had blown away a good chunk of them, however many more filled the ranks of the defeated within moments.

"Dear god," Charles muttered, feeling as if he would die if he attempted another blast like the one he had just performed, struggling he pulled himself to his feet, preparing for round two.

A whistling sound pierced his ears, forcing him back to his knees, what seemed to be missles flew past his ear, annihilating the hollows before him.

A great form leapt over him, flattening another hollow's mask with an open palm strike.

"Mr. Tesai?" Charles muttered, his strength fading. "What are you doing here?"

Glancing over he saw Mr. Kisuke, wielding a sword of his own, very few hollows remained once he was done.

"Rest now Charles," he remarked, turning towards him. "Ichigo and Uryu are fine for now, but you seem to be quite special."

Just as Charles thought he could take no more, looking around he saw Ururu standing behind him…holding a rocket launcher over her shoulder.

"You've gotta…be kidding me," Charles whispered, before finally passing out from exhaustion.

**Charles Tanaka's zanpakuto name revealed, Taiyou Kirite, the closest translation to Sun Slicer I could find, but it may not be exact and I apologize if it's not. I based the overall design of his zanpakuto off the World of Warcraft sword Quel'serrar sword, so if my descriptions are not sufficient just look up that sword and they are very similar, aside from the zanpakuto being a curved blade.**

**The battle has ended, Orihime and Chad have awakened their powers. Soul Society has discovered Rukia's whereabouts and will be coming to retrieve her, my personal favorite arc of the series approaches, you wont want to miss it. If you enjoy the chapter plse review, always glad to hear the opinions of readers. :) **


	5. The Plan is Forming

**Sorry for the long wait, I pray I haven't lost my touch. **

**Now aware of Kisuke Urahara's role, Charles is summoned for a dangerous mission, his tale as a new shinigami continues…**

Charles once again found himself within the recesses of his mind, Taiyou Kirite, or Tayo as Charles called him, his zanpakuto and companion sat upon a rock. Tayo was smoking a pipe he seemed to pull from his armor.

"I thought you said you would give me the power to defeat the hollows around me," Charles continued the argument with his inner zanpakuto. "Yet after one swing I was completely drained."

Tayo puffed several times on his pipe before looking up to respond. "That wasn't my fault, I gave you my power, it was your stupid idea to use every ounce of it in a single blast. If you had simply controlled yourself you could have rationed the power to take care of the entire army of hollows."

"Fine, fine," Charles muttering, kicking the rock that existed only in his mind. "But what was that with Mr. Urahara? That sword of his looked…odd."

"He's a Shinigami," Tayo quickly interjected, still puffing smoke rings.

"What? How the hell is he a Shinigami? He's my boss for crying out loud."

"Please, his spiritual pressure is enormous compared to yours or Ichigo's, I noticed he was a shinigami the moment you entered the shop after you awoke your powers."

"And you didn't tell me?"

"How could I have?"

"Touché," Charles remarked, before his mind flashed white, Tayo vanished.

Groaning Charles opened his eyes, revealing his was lying face-up on a makeshift bed. The ceiling was unmistakably Urahara's.

Sitting up slowly he found himself looking into the eyes of said boss.

"Hello my boy," he immediately greeted, fanning himself as he spoke. "How do you feel?"

"Um….ok I guess," Charles replied, his eyes locked on Urahara. "Are you a Shinigami?"

"O boy am I found out?" Urahara chuckled, shielding his eyes with his hat. "And you're one too. When did it happen?"

"A few nights ago," Charles replied truthfully. "Rukia said my abilities awoke or something."

"Rukia?" Urahara asked in a seemingly-mocking manner. "And all she told me about was the Kurosaki kid."

"Rukia? Ichigo? Where are they? How long have I been asleep?"

"O not long, about three or four days."

"Four days!" Charles shouted, throwing off the covers and leaping to his feet. "What about my family, my friends at school, they'll be worried!"

"No problem there," came an eerily familiar feminine voice.

Spinning fast revealed Charles' own body standing in the doorway, a smile present on his face he knew could never come from himself.

"K-kaita?" he asked, choking out each syllable, looking down he was hit with the realization that he was still in his Shinigami robes. "What are you still doing in my body!?"

"That's me," she smiled through his body. "Been making sure all your school friends thought everything was peachy with you, though it's a lot easier now that it's the summer break."

"What about my parents? My sister?"

"Well…that's the complicated part…" Kaita whispered, shuffling her feet together nervously. "You see…when I got to your house your dad and sister were out cold, a hollow had attacked…"

Charles leapt from his futon; quickly he grabbed Kaita by the shoulders hard.

"Where are they? What happened to them?" he shouted with fear, his eyes wide with terror.

"They are fine," Urahara interrupted. "The hollow was dispatched, I am glad you are finally awake, things have changed."

Charles turned to him hesitantly, a bad feeling passing though his body. "Changed? What do you mean?"

"Rukia has been taken back to Soul Society."

"Isn't that a good thing? I thought she was waiting for her powers to come back so she could…"

"To be executed," Kisuke Urahara finished.

Charles stumbled over his own feet, the shock hitting him like a ton of bricks. He had only known Rukia a short while, however she had saved their lives that night, and now she…"

"What for? What did she do? That's insane!"

"The transfer of power to a human is a felony," Kisuke mused, continuing to fan himself. Though you are right in one respect…Soul Society has been acting…erratic recently."

"Ichigo needs to hear of this!"

"He already has…the hard way," silently he motioned in the direction of the backroom.

Charles crept to the door; slowly he slid it open, revealing Ichigo laying on a futon, unconscious.

"He was badly wounded by the Shinigami team sent to retrieve Rukia," Urahara explained, waving for Kaita to leave the room.

"Um…Mr. Urahara," Charles stuttered, his eye twitching as he stared at Ichigo's unconscious form. "Why is Mr. Tesai laying on top of him?"

Indeed, Mr. Tesai's giant form was lain prostrate across Ichigo, encompassing his whole body.

"Well," Urahara sweat dropped. "Ichigo had lost quite a bit of blood in the fight…this was the best way to keep him from freezing to death.

"O…k," Charles whispered, closing the door as slowly as he had opened it.

"Somehow we need to get to Soul Society," Charles analyzed, finally having a moment to think clearly. "We have to rescue her!"

"Of course you do, the young knights in shining armor to the princess's rescue," Urahara smiled, fanning his face faster. "I do say they should make a book out of this." As quickly has he had smiled his face suddenly contorted into a look of pure seriousness. "However…I was wondering if you could help in a…different way?"

"Hmm?"

"As I said before, Soul Society has been acting erratic to say the least, and a full invasion won't yield an answer as to why."

"What are you getting at sir, please get to the point."

Urahara stopped fanning; tilting his head upwards he looked directly into Charles' eyes.

"Your speed is quite special, even though you gained your powers not even a week ago, you are faster than a Lieutenant level Shinigami, and few Captains could match you."

"That fast?" Charles whispered. He had known that Rukia complemented his speed on several occasions, yet faster than a Shinigami elite…

"Indeed, therefore you are perfect for the task at hand."

"And that would be?"

"An infiltration of the Shinigami ranks…the Gotei 13."

"The who?"

"O don't worry, my friend and I shall teach you all you need to know during your training."

"Training?" Charles was starting to feel foolish with all the questions he was being forced to ask.

"But of course, you and Ichigo shall need proper training in order to enter Soul Society; Ichigo doesn't even have his powers at present."

_Why do I have a bad idea about this? _Charles thought to himself

_Because you are exceptionally gifted at obvious perception_, Tayo replied

"Shut up!" Charles shouted, causing Urahara to stare at him blankly.

"In any case," Urahara continued. "My good friend will be training you, while I deal with Ichigo." Stepping aside he motioned towards the ground, revealing a lone black cat.

"Um…" Charles stared, eyes wide, unable to remove them from the feline. "That's a cat."

"Indeed, may I introduce Miss Yoruichi Shihoin, my best friend in the world!"

"No offense sir, but how can a cat teach me anything, though he is kinda cute," kneeling down he started to scratch the cats ears.

"If you shut up and listen for a minute I could teach you a lot," the cat spoke in a gruff deep voice, causing Charles to freeze in terror. "Though that scratching feels quite nice."

"AAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!" Charles screamed, launching himself back a good couple yards. "A talking cat!"

A similar yet impossibly more terrified scream echoed throughout the store, forcing Charles to cover his ears, though Yoruichi and Urahara appeared unfazed.

"Goody, Ichigo is awake," Urahara smiled. "Time to get to work."

**Whew, finally got this done, sorry if it's a little bland, this is the explanation/discussion chapter…next begins the training, and preparation for Charles' infiltration of the Gotei 13's ranks, I hope you enjoy it.**

**P.S. I hope fans of the show got the joke as to Ichigo's scream lol, I always thought the Japanese voice did such a good job and sounded absolutely terrified, though Bosch did a pretty good job in the dub too. =)**


	6. Once more Into the Gate

**The time has come, all the training shall be put to use in what was thought impossible… entering Soul Society for the infiltration of the Gotei 13's ranks, hope you enjoy it.**

Several days had passed since Yoruichi's arrival, already she had taught him of the Gotei 13, an elite corp. made up of the strongest Shinigami in Soul Society. After Ichigo restored his powers the two had begun training in Urahara's underground cavern, a desolate rocky terrain composed entirely of spirit particles. Amazingly, Charles learned that Orihime and Chad had acquired similar special abilities themselves, and would be accompanying them to Soul Society.

"So there are thirteen of these captains?"

"Plus their lieutenants, each captain has one or more, and their individual squads can number in the hundreds."

"And you want me to infiltrate these squads and find out what's been making their leaders go crazy with their recent orders?"

"Precisely," Yoruichi replied, Charles could still scarcely believe he was receiving training from a cat. "Brute force won't help you, each captain could kill you a hundred times over without breaking a sweat, and even Ichigo wouldn't stand a chance. With that in mind we will be enhancing your speed.

"How are we going to do that?"

"Your spiritual energy of course," Yourichi instructed, leaping off the boulder he stood upon, reappearing instantly mere inches from Charles' face. "You have the spiritual pressure required to enhance your already impressive speed now that you know your zanpakuto's name, call him forth."

Drawing his sword from its sheath Charles shouted, "Dance to the heavens, Taiyou Kirite!" With a blinding light the sword resumed its impressive form it had attained back in the fight with the hollows, its energy flowing into him.

"Now that you know your power you should be able to channel it without summoning your zanpakuto in the future, so don't blow it all in one attack like before. I want you to focus the energy into a current beneath your feet, concentrate."

Feeling rather foolish, Charles closed his eyes and concentrated on his feet regardless, trying to figure out what to do.

"I should be the one to go," Ichigo chimed in, having finished cutting a rock in half with his newly acquired zanpakuto Zangetsu. "Charles isn't strong enough."

"And you don't have the tact," Yoruichi rebuked. "When the Gotei 13 choose new squad members often times they are students straight out of the academy. Most of them probably will be split up into the 13 squads and forget those they knew during their studies, that's what were hoping for, Charles has a common enough look that he will blend in. On the other hand I'm pretty sure that people would remember an orange haired classmate."

Ichigo grumbled, taking out his frustration on another boulder.

"Fortunately for us, they are recruiting in only two days, with any luck we can sneak inside. While we look for Rukia, Charles can find out what's been going on recently.

During the banter Charles had somehow remained focused on his feet, as he continued he felt the power surge through them, a gold aura glowing around him as more power flowed forth.

"Very good, still chaotic like before, but better," Yoruichi complimented. "Now, I want you to run to that boulder, touch it, and run back. With an outstretched paw he pointed to a mere speck in the distance.

"Th-that boulder?" Charles pointed, barely able to see it from such a distance. "Looks more like a pebble from over here."

"Just do it, and keep your energy focused on your feet."

Charles swallowed hard, praying Yoruichi knew what he was talking about; he closed his eyes and prayed.

With a whoosh of dust he vanished before Ichigo's eyes, reappearing only once for an instant far in the distance, finally reappearing right back where he had started.

The whole run too three seconds, three footprints were all that proved his run was accomplished, the ground where his feet had touched was gone, seemingly vaporized.

"Wow…" was all Charles could whisper.

"Not bad, you're about as fast as my protege was when last I saw her."

"You had a protege?"

"Yes, her name was Soi Fon, I haven't seen her in the hundred years since I..."

"Glad to see such progress, but no time for further tutelage I'm afraid" came Urahara's voice out of nowhere, causing everyone save Yoruichi to jump in surprise.

Orihime, Chad, and Ishida were with him.

"Catch," Urahara warned, tossing a black robe to Charles.

"What's this for?" he asked, noticing it appeared to be nothing more than a normal Shinigami robe like the one he and Ichigo presently wore.

"Shinigami in Soul Society can tell whether a fellow Shinigami's robes were issued in Soul Society or not. This is an authentic garb straight from the Seireitei; it should fool them into believing you graduated from the academy.

"Was it yours?" Charles asked, before disappearing behind a rock to change.

"Hehehe no, I wasn't wearing mine when I left, that one belonged to Yoruichi."

The whole group froze at this, slowly turning their heads in Charles direction, beginning to sweat drop.

"I'm wearing…a cat's uniform!?" Charles shouted, jumping up from the rock, batting at his uniform as if there were roaches infesting it. "How does it even fit??"

"Well…that's a long story we don't have time for," Urahara whispered, slamming his cane on the ground, causing a large door-like frame to protrude from the rocks before them.

"This gate will allow you all to go to soul society, and with my ingenious energy conversion machine even Ishida, Orihime and Chad will be able to enter, normally non-spirits can't enter a world like Soul Society."

"And they have portals like this to soul society?" Charles asked, poking the edge of the gate. "Seems like a poor security measure if you ask me."

Urahara's response was a swift cane blow to the nose, causing Charles to grab his face in pain.

"I had to work rather hard to get this up and running so I should expect greater gratitude for my troubles. If you wish to rescue the Miss Rukia I suggest you hurry."

"You heard them man Ichigo," Charles taunted. "Let's go rescue your girlfriend!"

"SHUT IT!" was Ichigo's only response before they dove into the swirling black vortex.

Urahara could only smile.

"Their powers really have flourished in such a short time," he remarked to a nearby man and woman standing behind him. "They might actually have a chance at staying alive."

"But of course," replied the man first. "My boy is a natural, there's no way he can lose. What about your kid?"

"He'll do just fine," the woman muttered softly. "He got my skill and his father's tenacity…that girl Rukia is in good hands with those two after her. With their friends backing them up…Soul Society won't know what hit them."

"Tenacity isn't all he inherited from his father," whispered Urahara, unable to remove his gaze from the portion of earth that Charles' foot had made contact with during his training, the indentation much deeper than it should be.

They simply stood, watching the portal to Soul Society dissipate, their Shinigami robes billowing in the unseen wind.

**Sort of a short chapter, but the real excitement begins next time, when they must breach the gates of Soul Society and find Rukia…**


End file.
